'Appalling' driver who led police on high-speed chase jailed

Luke Barratt (28), of Carr Head Lane, Bolton-on-Dearne, drove at speeds of up to 70mph in a 30mph zone in an “appalling” display of driving.

He admitted to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance at Sheffield Crown Court on August 29 and was jailed.

He was also banned from driving for three years.

Barratt was caught by police driving a Vauxhall Corsa from Goldthorpe to Bolton-on-Dearne on June 29 this year “in quite an appalling manner”,

Recorder Peter Pimm said Barratt had driven through built-up estates at speeds of up to 70mph and had failed to stop for police who were chasing him.

Sentencing Barratt he said: “Your driving was so appalling that you actually collided with a stationary vehicle.

“You drove onto wasteland in your partially-damaged vehicle and crashed it again the recklessness of your driving was such.

“It’s a matter of luck, and nothing more, that you didn’t injure anyone else, or yourself, in the process.”

Barratt was on bail at the time of the police chase after previously being found with a machete and amphetamines hidden in his car last October.

Mr Daniel Penman, mitigating, said Barratt had been diagnosed with leukaemia and still suffered from low energy levels.

Mr Pimm added: “Even without the earlier offending, that offence, of dangerous driving in particular, is so serious that an immediate custodial sentence can’t be avoided.”